Crash
by robynisawkward
Summary: Deryn and Alek test a new beastie. Dalek. One-shot.


The London Zoological Society did not believe in taking holidays for longer than the holiday itself. On the second of January, the two-day holiday was over, and Deryn and Alek were back to work.

"Mr. Sharp, report to my office immediately," the message lizard hanging onto the wall above Deryn's bed said. The message was from Dr. Barlow, and she didn't sound particularly happy. "Also, please do stop by Mr. Hohenberg's quarters to wake him. I've already sent him a message lizard, but I doubt that he's woken. End message."

Deryn sat up quickly. After months on an airship, she was used to being ready for work at a moment's notice. "Aye, Dr. Barlow. I'll be there shortly. End message."

The message lizard scampered away through the tunnel that connected all rooms. One of the boffins fixed it so that you couldn't hear anything from the other rooms, but it was handy for message lizards. Bovril seemed to think that it was his playground.

Deryn pulled on her navy blue uniform and ran a brush through her blonde hair. Her jacket was crumpled, but she didn't notice. Nobody would at quarter to seven in the morning.

There were a surprising number of people in the hall. They were all sleepy and their eyes bloodshot. She nodded in acknowledgement at a few of her colleagues, but otherwise remained silent. Most of them were still hung-over.

Alek's room was next to Deryn's. She knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. No noise came from behind the door. Finally, she sighed and opened the door, saying, "Alek! Get up! Dr. Barlow wants us in her office now!"

"Get up!" Bovril repeated from Alek's bedside table.

Alek sat up with a jolt, his eyes bloodshot as the rest of the crew. His clothes from the night before were crumpled in a pile in one corner, and his bed was scattered with papers and yet more clothes. Alek himself was covered in crumpled sheets, though it was obvious that he was shirtless underneath. Deryn blushed.

"What? Der—Dylan?" he squeaked. "Oh, right. Dr. Barlow sent for us. Looks like I've fallen asleep again. I'll be ready in a minute."

"Hurry. The lady boffin's got her knickers in a twist."

"Right, right," Alek mumbled as he pulled on the blazer of his uniform. He dug through the pile of clothes on his bed and pulled out a wrinkled pair of navy trousers. He turned to Deryn and said, "If you could just—"

She nodded. "Right."

Deryn turned to exit the room. Now that Alek knew that she was a girl, and now that they were in what might be considered a "relationship"—though it was complicated, with the whole society thinking that she was a boy and all—Alek was very particular about being proper. He acted more like a regular boy now, but princely habits die hard.

Alek emerged from his room two minutes later in his creased trousers and blazer, his reddish-brown hair only passably combed, and Bovril on his shoulder. He nodded at Deryn and they walked to Dr. Barlow's office together.

The lady boffin's office was on the second floor of the building, where all the other boffins' offices were. Deryn's and Alek's quarters were on the fourth floor.

"What do you think Dr. Barlow's got in store for us?" asked Alek.

Deryn shrugged. "Perhaps it's got something to do with that new batch of lorises she's been fabricating."

"New batch of lorises," Bovril scowled.

The former prince reached over and petted Bovril on his furry brown head. "Don't worry, beastie. Nothing will replace you."

The loris cooed.

Dr. Barlow opened the door before they had time to knock.

"About time," she said, turning away and taking her seat behind her desk. She seemed more snappish than usual. "Well, what are you waiting for? Take a seat. I have an important job for you today."

Deryn and Alek took their seats in front of Dr. Barlow's desk. Bovril scampered off, hiding under the table and repeating stolen phrases from random conversations. Tazza was lying in the corner, watching them silently.

Dr. Barlow pulled a file out from under the desk and slid it over to them. "Read it."

They flipped through the pages of the file together. Most of the papers contained pictures and diagrams of a fabrication that was almost certainly created from the life threads of a reptile. Deryn had never seen anything like it before.

"Dr. Barlow, what is this?" asked Deryn.

"That, Mr. Sharp, is a new fabrication that a few scientists—myself included—have been working on for the last few months. It contains the life threads of a pterodactyl, a dinosaur that has been extinct for thousands of year. Just recently did we find the bones suitable for recreation."

"That's fascinating, ma'am, but what are we to do?" Alek asked. The boffin had never allowed them to assist her in the actual fabrications of beasties before.

"I'm getting to that," she snapped. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together and continued, "The two of you, being former airmen, have been chosen to test our new fabrication too determine whether or not it is airworthy."

Deryn's eyebrows shot up. "Test it, ma'am? You mean fly it? Don't you think that's a wee bit dangerous?"

"I should think not," said Dr. Barlow. "You are a trained airman, after all. And Mr. Hohenberg will be there to assist you, as he is the only other member of the Society that has as much experience as you do. I trust that you will not crash or hurt the fabrication. Still, Dr. Collins will be at Regent's Park to give you a briefing. All the gear will be provided." The lady boffin stood. "Now, if you will follow me to Regent's Park."

Regent's Park was where Deryn first met the lady boffin more than a year ago. The Zoological Society used it as their airport because they had no space in the zoo itself.

Dr. Barlow was oddly sullen for someone whose work was about to be tested, Deryn thought. Since the lady boffin always walked a few paces ahead of them, Deryn asked Alek why in a whisper.

"I'm not sure," he whispered back. "I think I overheard Volger saying that she was having marital problems or something."

Deryn nodded silently. She'd almost forgotten that the boffin was even married.

Five boffins—all male—were already in the park, talking amongst themselves in their fancy suits and science talk. They all nodded at Dr. Barlow and tried to talk to her, but she gave them snappish, one-word answers. She didn't even bother to introduce Alek and Deryn.

The test started at precisely eight in the morning. Dr. Collins, one of the younger boffins, briefed Alek and Deryn on the beastie. Where the ropes were and how to steer and how high it could go.

"The tissues of the wings are delicate," Dr. Collins warned. "Also it's chin. Though I doubt you'll be touching either of those parts anytime soon. We'll be able to see you from the ground. You are to land back in Regent's Park in half an hour. Right, then. Have you got all your gear on? Jackets? Goggles? Safety harnesses? Yes? All right. Take care of Zeus! See you on the ground!"

Alek and Deryn mounted the pterodactyl. It wasn't a very large animal, and barking microscopic compared to the _Leviathan._ It was roughly two thirds of the size of the fabs made from stingray life threads that they say in Mexico, though most of it was dominated by the creature's impressive wingspan. The wings were huge and leathery, with a slight greenish tinge under its otherwise brown skin. Its head was long and a long bone protruded from the back of the skull. That was where the reins were attached.

"Zeus," Alek repeated as he settles on the saddle behind Deryn, who took the front seat and the reins. It reminded Deryn of Bovril, who was forced to stay on the ground with the boffins. "I guess it's a boy, then. Looks a bit small for an airship, don't you think?"

"Aye," nodded Deryn. She tested the reins, twisting the beastie's head this way and that. "But that's only because the only airship you've ever been on is the _Leviathan_."

"True," Alek agreed. He controlled the altitude of the beast using some harness that was attached to Zeus's wings.

Deryn looked over to Dr. Collins, who was standing by to give them instructions. He gave them the _"go" _signal.

And then they were flying.

Alek gave a little yelp of surprise but gathered himself quickly, bringing the beastie higher and higher until the six boffins in the park were mere dots.

"Blimey, I don't remember flying to be this fast!" Alek shouted over the wind. He barely had time to pull on his goggles.

"It always has been!" Deryn yelled back. She felt herself smiling. She hadn't flown since Dr. Barlow's short excursion to Spain in the latter months of the previous year. She laughed loudly as spun the pterodactyl in a slow, curving circle. The beast gave a loud squawk of its own in response.

Even with the wind biting at her face, Deryn managed to turn around and face Alek. She found him grinning at her. His cheeks were flushed from the cold—was it just the cold?—and his short brown hair was being whipped around. He looked so handsome when he was happy, so relaxed and at ease the way he never was when he had the weight of the Austria-Hungary empire on his shoulders. Now he was just a boy—smiling and flying with the girl he loved.

And then he leaned forward and kissed her. It caught her off-guard. She accidentally let the beastie dip to the left before they broke apart, still smiling and laughing.

That's when everything went wrong.

When Deryn turned around, she found herself staring at the Big Ben. Both she and the beasty gave a little shriek before she pulled a hard right, almost throwing Alek off his seat.

Deryn couldn't regain control. Zeus was going berserk. His wings were no longer flapping in sync and no amount of pulling steered him in the right direction.

"Barking spiders!" yelled Deryn. Zeus was now dipping downwards, towards a fenced-in lot that had just barely started construction. There were no workers there, but a wooden structure was already standing. She yelled at Alek to try to slow the descent, but his efforts were in vain. The beastie kept at his nose-dive downward.

They had no choice.

"Alek!" Deryn shouted. "When I say jump, jump! We can't land this thing!"

"Okay!" she thought she heard him yell back.

"One."

The ground was getting nearer. Zeus was squawking and flailing. Deryn felt bad for the poor beastie.

"Two."

They were close enough to see that there were wooden planks and nails strewn all over the lot. This was going to be painful.

"Three."

Deryn started cursing in her head. She'd end up just like her Pa. At least there was no fire involved. She felt Alek's strong arms wrap around her. They were about three meters above ground.

"Jump!"

They jumped.

Deryn didn't have time to scream. Before she knew it, she was landing right-shoulder-first into a pile of wood and dirt. Alek's arms were still around her.

"Are you okay?" she half-yelled at Alek, who landed right beside her. Zeus landed right in the middle of the construction sight, right into the nails and wood. He yelling like mad, but Alek was for more important. "Alek! Are you hurt?"

Alek groaned as he was up. There were splinters in his hair and a huge gash on his jaw. "Apart from my jaw, I'm fine. It's you who we should be worried about."

"Me? What-?" And then she felt the pain. There was a huge splinter embedded in the side of her head. It hurt worse than a headache. Deryn brought her hand up to her head. It came away wet and sticky with blood. "Ah, that's a pain."

"Sit down," Alek insisted. Deryn didn't notice that she was even on her feet. She was way worse off than Alek, she knew that much, but she wouldn't let that overcome her. She was a bloody decorated airman, after all.

He was already pulling off his jacket before she could object. He ripped off a long piece of navy fabric.

"Barking spiders, Alek! What do you think you're doing?"

"Making sure you don't bleed to death," he said as he wrapped the strip of fabric around her head. She winced. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"It's fine. You don't need to do this, you know."

He smiled a bit. "I know, but it's gentlemanly."

Deryn rolled her eyes. Barking prince.

"You'll freeze to death," she said.

He shook his head. "The boffins'll be here soon. I'll survive until then."

Deryn tried to object by shaking her head. Bad idea. "Ooh," she groaned.

"Lie down," Alek said. He guided her head to his lap and she didn't object. "How's your knee? The ligaments haven't torn again?"

"Nah," she said. "I think I've banged up my shoulder, though. It's barking painful. How's your jaw?"

"Manageable."

The beastie squawked again. They both looked over to the injured beasts. It had splinters all over, most of them worse than Deryn's.

"Poor beastie," Deryn sighed. "He must be in pain. We should help him."

Alek shook his head. "We can't afford for you to lose any more blood, Deryn."

Deryn looked up at him. Maybe it was the blood loss, but he looked so cute when he was concerned.

"Aye, but now I know how it hurts, and it's barking painful."

Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed her, long and passionate. Deryn could taste the blood from both of their injuries, but that didn't matter.

Her hand went up and she entwined her fingers in his reddish-brown curls to pull him closer. He tried to do the same, but all that met him were bloody bandages. He pushed them apart.

"Deryn—," he said. His fingers were red. "Your injury."

Her hearts beating so fast, she wasn't surprised that she was bleeding again. "Aye, but that sure did help with the pain."

Alek smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. Softer, this time, and shorter. Still, her heart fluttered.

_"Ich liebe dich, _Deryn," Alek said, his face still mere centimeters from hers. Deryn could feel his breath on her lips. His green eyes burned with such intensity that Deryn hadn't seen since that day on top of the _Leviathan._

"I love you too, Alek," Deryn whispered back. They kissed again.

Maybe crash-landing was worth it.


End file.
